The Chapel of Our Lady of La Leche in St. Augustine is on the grounds of the Mission of Nombre de Dios. St. Joseph is pictured overlooking the Chapel.

The Great Cross, standing as a sentinel over the Mission, is a stainless steel structure rising two hundred and eight feet above the marshes of the Matanzas River.

In 1565, Pedro Menendez de Aviles placed a small wooden cross in Florida’s soil and founded the Mission of Nombre de Dios, the site of the first Mass.

It is believed that here is where the first Thanksgiving in the New World was celebrated. The Great Cross erected in 1966, celebrates the Four Hundredth anniversary of the Mission of Nombre de Dios and the City of St. Augustine.

It is a beautiful place to visit and full of history.